Fracturing and gravel packing a borehole using conventional systems requires multiple trips in and out of the borehole to place, utilize, and remove equipment. For example, the equipment used in fracturing, such as a straddle packer system, is be run into the borehole, operated to fracture at a first position in the borehole, moved and operated to fracture at one or more subsequent positions in the borehole, and then removed. Thereafter, a production string having a gravel pack screen and washpipe assembly is run into the borehole, and the annulus between the gravel pack screen and the borehole is gravel packed. Finally, the washpipe must be removed from the borehole before production can begin. In each trip into and out of the borehole, the equipment must travel many thousands of feet. The trips can accumulate days and even weeks onto the time it takes to complete the well. During this time, costs accrue as crews and equipment must be on site to perform the operations. Furthermore, the time spent tripping into and out of the borehole delays the time in which the well begins to produce, and thus begins to payback the expenses outlaid in drilling the well. If the time required to fracture and gravel pack the borehole can be reduced, the well may be more profitable. One manner to reduce this time is to refine the fracturing and gravel packing processes to reduce the number of trips into and out of the borehole.
Accordingly, there is a need for a system and method of fracturing and gravel packing a well that requires a reduced number of trips into and out of the borehole.